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By Elise Franco
By Elise Franco
Canfield
The Canfield Fair isn’t a small-time fair, and it doesn’t put on small-time shows.
For decades the fair board has been able to pack the grandstand with acts such as Bob Hope, Brooks and Dunn, Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton and Vince Gill, said board member George Roman.
This year is no exception.
Roman, the director in charge of entertainment, said Sunday’s country concert featuring Dierks Bentley and Gretchen Wilson and Monday’s comedy act Jeff Dunham are expected to be near sellouts.
Roman expects between 6,500 and 8,000 tickets per show will be sold by the start of each event, which begins at 8 p.m. The grandstand can hold 8,500 people.
“We have at least one country act,” he said. “I watch the Country Music Awards and pick out an artist who is on the rise and try to go from there.”
Roman said choosing and booking talent is a process that begins months in advance.
“We like to start the process in December, and it sometimes takes through February or March,” he said.
The biggest obstacle Roman said he has to overcome is how much the act will cost.
Roman didn’t say exactly how much it cost the fair to book Bentley, Wilson and Dunham, but he said there’s no set budget.
“Acts range anywhere from $150 to $1 million,” he said. “We obviously can’t do that top number here, but we’re flexible.”
Roman said he likes to find an act that he feels will peak near fair-time.
“We like to try to keep up with who’s becoming popular,” he said. “If we can keep a pulse on that, our promotions team can start to work some deals.”
R.J. Kaltenbach, of Klein’s Attractions Inc. of Chicago, said he watches artists’ career trends and ultimately books the artists.
“Dierks has had a very slow, steady climb, and he’s worked very hard at building his career,” he said. “Gretchen has been the same way.”
Kaltenbach said Canfield is able to draw in big-name acts year after year because of the size of the fair and its overall reputation.
“It can be hard to get the big names, but it all depends on your fair’s reputation,” he said. “This is one of the top fairs in the country.”
Bentley, specifically, continues to play county fairs, even though he’s played in stadiums that hold 20,000-plus people, Kaltenbach said.
“He’s very good at knowing the county-fair circuit and its Americana core groups of fans,” he said. “He’s still out there doing it, even though he doesn’t have to be.”